Iowa, 1996

Cold in Iowa, January 29 to 31, 1996

January 29 to 31, 1996 · NWS FSD · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Bitterly cold air and strong winds combined to create wind chill readings as cold as 70 below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS FSD wrote it up.

Bitterly cold air and strong winds combined to create wind chill readings as cold as 70 below zero.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Lyon

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Lyon forecast zone
Coordinates
43.381, -96.210 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Osceola

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Osceola forecast zone
Coordinates
43.379, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Dickinson

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Dickinson forecast zone
Coordinates
43.378, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Sioux

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Sioux forecast zone
Coordinates
43.083, -96.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, O'Brien

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
O'Brien forecast zone
Coordinates
43.084, -95.625 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Clay

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Coordinates
43.083, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Plymouth

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Plymouth forecast zone
Coordinates
42.738, -96.214 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Cherokee

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Cherokee forecast zone
Coordinates
42.736, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Buena Vista

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Buena Vista forecast zone
Coordinates
42.736, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Woodbury

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Woodbury forecast zone
Coordinates
42.390, -96.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Ida

When
January 29, 9:00 AM CST to January 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Ida forecast zone
Coordinates
42.387, -95.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, January 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5538766, 5538767, 5538768, 5538769, 5538770, 5538771, 5538772, 5538773, 5538774, 5538775, 5538776.